The telecom regulator is set to start technical and financial audits into Airtel -- from the start of its operations in Bangladesh till merger with Robi.
Simultaneously, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is taking an initiative to go for a fresh audit into Banglalink, said BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood.
“We will shortly appoint audit firms for these two operators,” said Mahmood, but did not mention any timeframe for the audits.
The regulator is currently running an audit into both Grameenphone and Robi, which is progressing slowly.
Airtel launched its operations in Bangladesh in 2006. After ten years of its journey, it merged with Robi last year. Up until the merger, it recorded yearly revenue of around Tk 2,000 crore, but was never profitable.
“The merger will not be an obstacle to auditing its first ten years of operation,” said Mahmood.
The telecom regulator has a mandate to audit the operations of the operators from time to time, according to the Telecom Act. However, BTRC was never serious on this issue.
“Actually, it is our duty to run audits on the operators, but we cannot do so for a shortage of manpower,” said the chairman. BTRC first began a process of auditing the mobile operators in 2011; at that time, an audit company raised Tk 3,034 crore in claims after conducting an audit of Grameenphone's network.
At the same time, BTRC also began auditing Banglalink's network. However, the audit team could not complete the task despite several attempts.
Banglalink's revenue was Tk 4,870 crore in 2016, ending the year with three crore customers.
The telecom watchdog began fresh audits in 2015. In October, it appointed Toha Khan Zaman & Co to run an audit on Grameenphone's network without clearing previous claims.
BTRC gave a timeframe of 180 days to complete the audit, but the auditor got three time extenuations.
In March last year, the regulator appointed Masih Muhith Haque & Co to examine Robi's books at a fee of Tk 7.82 crore.
Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/regulator-audit-airtel-banglalink-1402210